---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we are to have any hope for the…"
description: "\"If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.\" — Plato"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg"
---

#  If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have…

![“If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg)

> “If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.”

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Future progress relies on sharing knowledge and guidance, symbolized by passing lanterns.

**In simple terms:** Share knowledge to shape the future.

Key Takeaway

Pass on guidance.

Themes

education leadership legacy

Mood

inspirational hopeful

Type

didactic philosophical

When to use this quote

- teaching
- community building
- innovation

Key Concepts

knowledge transfer mentorship

Questions to Reflect On

- Who should receive the lanterns?
- How to ensure responsible transmission?

A Different Perspective

Knowledge may be misused if not wisely shared.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope for the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-for-the-future/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Life is the ability to see what you can become before you realize what you've become, it is the hope for the future and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredericaehimen/life-is-the-ability-to-see-what-you-can-become-before-you-realize/)

[FredericaEhimen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredericaehimen/)

> [There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/there-is-hope-for-the-future-because-god-has-a-sense-of-humor-and-we/)

[Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/)

> [“People ask me whether I feel any hope for the future. I want to say to you: Yes, I do. I absolutely do. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/people-ask-me-whether-i-feel-any-hope-for-the-future-i-want-to-say-to/)

[M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/)

> [“The reins of our life are in the hands of the future. Man always lives today in the hope of tomorrow. And likewise he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-reins-of-our-life-are-in-the-hands-of-the-future-man-always-lives/)

[Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/)

> [“You're my hope for the future and my call to be a better man and I do hope one day you'll be my wife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-adams/you-re-my-hope-for-the-future-and-my-call-to-be-a-better-man-and-i-do/)

[Noelle Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-adams/)

> [To communicate the truths of history is an act of hope for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/to-communicate-the-truths-of-history-is-an-act-of-hope-for-the-future/)

[Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/)

> [My hope for the future is that we learn wisdom again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/my-hope-for-the-future-is-that-we-learn-wisdom-again/)

[Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/)

> [If you have hope for the future you have true riches; no matter how much you have in your account](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/if-you-have-hope-for-the-future-you-have-true-riches-no-matter-how/)

[Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/)

> [One should not brood on the past, one must hope for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-plaidy/one-should-not-brood-on-the-past-one-must-hope-for-the-future/)

[Jean Plaidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-plaidy/)

> [“Education is the realization of hope for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-tam/education-is-the-realization-of-hope-for-the-future/)

Victor Tam

> [My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet…is that they all realize their worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/my-hope-for-the-future-not-just-in-the-music-industry-but-in-every/)

[Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/)

> [Love forgets wrongs so that there is hope for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bevere/love-forgets-wrongs-so-that-there-is-hope-for-the-future/)

[John Bevere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bevere/)

> [We hope for the future, then we reach for the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/we-hope-for-the-future-then-we-reach-for-the-past/)

[Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/)

> [Our children are our only hope for the future, but we are their only hope for their present and their future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/our-children-are-our-only-hope-for-the-future-but-we-are-their-only/)

[Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/)

## More by Plato

> [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

[Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

## More Hope quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/)

[Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/)

> [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/)

[Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/)

> [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/)

[Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/)

> [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/)

[Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/)

[Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/)

> [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/)

[Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/)

> [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/)

[Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/)

> [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/)

Simone Abou Samra

> [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/)

Im Nothing

> [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

[Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Plato"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-future-those-who-have-lanterns/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Hope"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-future-those-who-have-lanterns/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/plato-103_hope_if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-futur_289788.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If we are to have any hope for the future, those who have lanterns must pass them on to others.” — Plato",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Plato",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If we are to have any...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-future-those-who-have-lanterns/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-we-are-to-have-any-hope-for-the-future-those-who-have-lanterns/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
